Mac OS X 10.4.5 Special Report: Printer issues, fixes

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 6:22 a.m. PT

4 min read

Printer issues have been perhaps the biggest gripe with Mac OS X 10.4.5. The issues affect a variety of models from different manufacturers, and there are a number of potential solutions.

Fixes

Gutenprint and usbtb Some users have been able to resolve printer communication issues by installing the excellent open-source Epson printer drivers available as part of the Gutenprint package (formerly known as Gimp-print) and usbtb, a CUPS back-end for USB printing.

Connect directly to Mac Some problems that may occur when a printer is connected through an AirPort Express or other AirPort base station are resolved by plugging the device directly into a Mac's USB port.

MacFixIt reader Ray Dudley writes:

"I was also having problems using the Epson printer utility. It never saw my printer. I had it plugged into the usb port on my AirTunes, but, finally I plugged it into the usb port on the Intel iMac and it works perfectly."

Remove non-required drivers MacFixIt reader Charlie reports that removing extraneous Epson drivers from /Library/Printers/EPSON resolved the issues with his RX-700 printer.

He writes:

"Just a follow up on the problems I reported yesterday. After searching around a bit I found a note about incompatibilities and workarounds related to Epson printers under Tiger which mentioned removing unnecessary printer plugins from /Library/Printers/EPSON. After removing most of the non-required plugins for my installation, I'm happy to report that the Epson Printer Utility works perfectly again with my RX-700."

One reader reports success with this workaround:

"Thanks to this recently posted tip, my Epson Printer Utility is working again."

Another reader, Frank Mullins, adds:

"Today, one of the suggested fixes on MacFixIt was to remove unnecessary printer plugins from /Library/Printers/EPSON. I did this. I worked!! The printer utility now works as it is supposed. Both printers now work without a problem. MacFixIt comes to the rescue, once again."
Re-install drivers Re-installation of printer drivers from original media or from a Web download (either directly through the manufacturers site or via a search by model/manufacturer on VersionTracker) can resolve some printer issues.
MacFixIt reader Jerry writes:

"My fix was to reinstall the Epson drivers from my OS 10.4.x DVD. It is now working fine."

Users also report issues with printers from other manufacturers under Mac OS X 10.4.5 (PowerPC and Intel versions) for devices that worked properly under Mac OS X 10.4.4.

Chea Prince reports an issue with his Lexmark printer. He writes:

"The same thing happened with my lexmark x83 (combination scanner/printer). lost communication with it after upgrade to 10.4.5. this is odd because i had had problems with the printer until 10.4.4. after installing 10.4.4 the x83 worked perfectly. Now nothing."

Try disconnecting from network One reader reports that a LAN-connected printer, seemingly broken by Mac OS X 10.4.5, was restored to normal operation by simply disconnecting the device from the network then re-connecting it.

The reader writes:

"Shortly after installing OS 10.4.5, my Brother HL-1870N printer first started printing trash on sheets and then I lost all connectivity to the printer. Being on a LAN, I disconnected and reconnected my 10Base-T box and the printed returned to normal."
"Communicator Error" -- try power cycling If you receive a "Communication Error" message when attempting to print after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.5, the first workaround you should try is power cycling the printer, as well as disconnecting then re-connecting it to the Mac.
One MacFixIt reader who had success with this workaround writes:

"I have an Epson R-2200 with USB through a powered hub. The hub is connected to a Sonnet Tango card in my G5 dual 2GHz tower. After installing the 10.4.5 update I experienced the 'A communication error has occurred' diagnostic at the first attempt at printing. As a standard practice when I encounter any communication anomaly, I cycled power to the printer, unplugged the USB cable, then plugged it back in. This fixed the communication problem. It?s been printing fine ever since."